Star Citizen

If you are new to these posts, welcome!

Star Citizen Comms-Dive (SCCD) is a round-up of questions taken from Spectrum where we dig deep for information and provide direct updates from the development teams. You can also check out our previously published SCCD #1 and SCCD #2 right here on Spectrum.

While we may not be able to respond to every comment or thread, rest assured, we're always absorbing and sharing your insights internally. Your engagement is what makes this project special, and Comms-Dive is another way for us to acknowledge the importance of your discussions and keep the information flowing. Thank you for the incredible energy you bring to this community. As always, we truly appreciate your feedback! Let's tackle some of your most pressing questions from these last weeks.

Will the VoIP system support environmental audio effects and vertical separation to improve realism?

Yes, the VoIP system will integrate with the audio propagation system, ensuring that environmental factors such as rooms, portals, and vertical separation are accurately reflected to improve realism. Hearing voices and sounds around you will feel more realistic, depending on the environment, including if the person is on the other side of a door.

What are the plans for the operational costs of vehicles?

First and foremost, Star Citizen is a space game, and access to a ship should always be within reach. That’s why starter ships remain priced and balanced to be accessible for new pilots, with acquisition and operational costs kept manageable.

For ships across the board, operational costs are meant to drive meaningful logistics gameplay. Mining, crafting, trading, and transporting goods all tie into the economy through refueling, repairing, and rearming. Prices will continue to evolve as we bring more systems online and update older ones, with the goal of making logistics a key part of the experience. Larger multi-crew and capital ships are intended to be flown by groups, and their upkeep will reflect that. Repair costs will scale with ship size and type, while fuel consumption will match the reality of moving something as massive as a capital ship. We’re focused on ensuring fuel burn behaves correctly, especially once the Resource Network is fully integrated, before adjusting costs further.

On the subject of torpedoes: the largest variants are designed for endgame scenarios, such as taking down an Idris. They are intended to be costly and rare, reflecting their destructive power. Until the content arrives that makes their role essential, they will remain priced high to preserve that balance.

We recognize that balance can sometimes feel disconnected from the current state of the universe. In many cases, this is because certain systems are awaiting additional work (like insurance), while others (like torpedoes) are balanced ahead of time with future gameplay in mind. Our aim is to avoid stacking too many major changes into a short window, and your patience and ongoing feedback are invaluable as we work toward bringing these systems together in a way that makes sense.

Why does the Polaris often open fire upon allied ships, players in my party?

This is a known issue and confirmed bug. We have worked on improvements to the design of Point Defense Cannons and their control system, and we hope to release a fix soon.

Can bunker missions be adjusted to stop automatically revealing all objective markers, allowing players to search manually?

To encourage exploration and discovery, some mission markers, such as ASD locations, only appear as players approach the objective. In the future, when FPS scanning is implemented, many markers for items and combatants will be removed entirely, allowing for more manual searching and discovery.

What is the current status of ship modules and modular ship development?

As mentioned in the Monthly Report and our recent Star Citizen Live episode, work on the Caterpillar and the Ironclad will introduce a new form of modularity through the command module. This development extends the underlying functionality needed to support modular content, laying the groundwork for modular systems across multiple ships in the future. The Apollo Triage and Medivac also come with all of their modules, so you can customize your ships even more.

What improvements are planned for the inventory UI to improve ergonomics and clarity?

The Inventory UI refactor is underway, aiming to significantly improve the user experience by introducing several key features. The updated interface will include improved item filters that allow users to quickly sort and locate specific gear, a stack all button, a search filter, and streamline moving objects between containers to feel more intuitive. Additionally, the backend is being optimized to improve the speed and responsiveness of item loading, reducing lag and making inventory management smoother and more efficient.

Altogether, these changes offer a more streamlined, strategic, and user-friendly inventory system.

Are there plans for personalized hangars that expand to include separate rooms for trophies and living spaces?

We do plan to give you the ability to customize your space. The intention is to introduce modular options that unlock new functionalities within the hangar. For example, spaces could be outfitted with dedicated interchangeable sub-modules, such as additional freight elevators, empty rooms for you to decorate as you please, and even medical facilities. We will talk more about hangar customization when the time is right.

Are there any improvements to come to ships’ lights?

All ships and ground vehicles share a common set of headlight parameters to maintain consistency. These settings balance artistic considerations (avoiding overly bright headlights that wash out visuals) with gameplay needs (providing enough visibility at speed). Long term, we plan to introduce light amplification functionality to improve visibility.

Cockpit lighting is an ongoing balance between being bright enough to read instruments and not so bright that it affects visibility in dark environments, which we are working towards striking a good balance. With Global Illumination coming online in the future (shown during CitizenCon 2953) cockpits will be lit more naturally, reducing the need for extreme lighting setups. In the meantime, we’ve started adding player-controlled lighting options in some ships, such as the Golem and Wolf, which allow toggling between default and alternative light states.

What is the current status and plan for implementing ships’ armor systems?

Ships’ armor systems will be introduced in stages. Initially, a temporary system will launch with Engineering Gameplay, providing protection to ship components; as armor health reaches zero, those components will become more vulnerable. Later, this will be replaced by the Maelstrom system, which will use the ship’s hull materials as armor to protect both the ship and its components.

Are improvements planned for ASOP terminal filters, allowing sorting by ship, pledge status, role, or size?

Yes, improvements to ASOP terminal filters are planned, and we do have some critical quality-of-life features, such as the ability to search for a ship, coming soon.

What steps are being taken to improve in-game chat moderation, filtering, and customization options?

We are working to bring in-game chat moderation and customization closer to the standards seen in other MMOs. This includes features like functional “mute” and “report” options accessible directly from a player’s name in-game, and more.

We look forward to your continued participation on Spectrum. Thanks for sharing your passion and feedback with us! o7